Reviews

The Living Dead by George A. Romero, Daniel Kraus

es_the_book_hoarder's review against another edition

5.0

This is an EPIC book, in every sense of the word it's a huge journey through the lives of various characters during a zombie/ghoul apocalypse. It's extremely character driven - and by this I mean there are chapters devoted to characters, their lives, the situations they find themselves in and everything in between and in some cases, afterwards. And I could not stop wanting to read it! I needed to find out more about these people. I lived and breathed every moment with every one of them.

The take on zombies/ghouls was a really interesting one. The general gore and horror you would expect is there but there is so much more to it than meets the eye.

There are racial, political and social nuances throughout, but it has at its core an extreme sense of what it is to be human, and it is that aspect that threads through this novel connecting everything together.

I have never read a zombie novel before this one, though I've seen plenty of zombie movies and shows. This book played out before my reading eyes like a movie, and left something behind with me that will stay, just as those many movies and shows have. It has heart, character, nail biting intensity, cringeworthy gory scenes, heartbreaking tearful losses, and triumphant cries of victory. It does not ask all the questions, it does not give all the answers. But it doesn't need to. Etta, Greer, Chuck, Charlene, Luis, Nishimura, Muse, Jenny, Fadi, and Annie Teller. And so many, many more. Their stories build the foundation for this epic, and the superb writing draws you right in to their lives and it's fabulous.

Thank you to the authors, publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

badseedgirl's review against another edition

5.0

Zombies have been an obsession of mine for more years than I can even count, and my heart broke just a little when I heard of George A. Romero's death in July of 2017. I was thrilled when I heard that there was a zombie book written by Mr. Romero, and I have been on the library waiting list for this book since it was released August 2020. I think it is a mark of how well respected George A. Romero is, that I finally received my digital copy of this novel in March on 2021, seven months after I requested it. There are still 23 people waiting on hold for a copy. This is not the book that has been on my TBR list the longest, but was one of the most highly anticipated ones.

First let me start off by saying, I started this book with some trepidation. I am still having flashbacks from the last [a:Daniel Kraus|2782638|Daniel Kraus|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1570627730p2/2782638.jpg] book I read, [b:Rotters|18416921|Rotters|Daniel Kraus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410769889l/18416921._SX50_.jpg|13440919]. If you like truly disturbing books, I would highly recommend this one. But, I digress. I swore I would not read another Daniel Kraus book, but when I put my name on The Living Dead, I did not realize he was the co-author.

After reading this book, I have decided to give Mr. Kraus another try. The way he seamlessly incorporated his writing and Mr. Romero's was wonder. I really was unable to tell where his work started and ended. My only complaint about this book was the one complaint many had, it was a tad too long. If you read the afterward by Mr. Kraus, it seems like he was a true fan and tried to get as many ideas Mr. Romero left into the book. It seems like there was a rough story arc and several story ideas, but no true outline to follow in the writing.

The thing is, after reading it and thinking about it, I was not sure what I would have cut from the story to make it shorter. I suppose it could have been broken up into a couple books, but than Mr. Kraus and the publishers ran the risk of being accused of a money grab using the name of George A. Romero. All in all, they made the best decision possible in the situation.

I loved the concept of experiencing the world through the zombies. I know this is not unique to this book. But it was one of the best examples of it. Annie Teller is the best example of this. I am tagging this section of the review with spoilers

Spoiler

Throughout the book characters interact with his character, as she is driven to journey from Washington DC, across the entire country to meet her love at the La Brea Tar Pits. Even after she is bitten and converted to a zombie, she is still compelled to keep moving West. When she arrives at those tar pits, I will admit, I shed a few tears.

As was hinted at in Romero's movie "Dawn of the Dead" when the characters discuss why the zombies keep coming to the mall, and more specifically shown in "Day of the Dead" and "Land of the Dead," Romero's zombies are not the mindless eating machines one would originally think. They still maintain thoughts and higher desires, but in a more "hive" mind mentality.

George A. Romero will always have a special place in my heart, his movie "Night of the Living Dead" peeked what has become a life-long love affair with zombies. I can say without hesitation that the Romero Zombie is the reason I love zombie fiction in all it's guises. I had seen the movie "White Zombie" credited as the first zombie movie at about the same time I saw "Night of the Living Dead," and I can say that if this had been the only depiction of zombies, I'm quite confidant that they would never have become the juggernaut they are now. The world owes George A. Romero a debt of gratitude. This book is a fitting end to a brilliant man and career.

blackenedwhiplash's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

First half is fucking awesome, with fantastic worldbuilding and characters. Second half starts to slowly lag until the last bit, especially once the political campaign between the two potential community leaders comes up, really drags on and becomes a slog to get through. I ended up not liking either leader, we are obviously supposed to like Carl, but he’s way too pacifist for his own good, outlawing even harming zombies. In fact, one big thing I don't like in this book is how many characters come to the conclusion that they shouldn’t harm or kill the undead, even when it’s basically kill or be killed. I can understand having one or two characters believing in that, or one person convincing a cult of people, but all these characters come to this conclusion separately and just so happen to end up running into each other. Especially what Carl went through on the Naval boat and having decades of Navy experience, it really makes no sense to me why his views become what they are.

Greer and Muse (forgive me if I misspelled their names I listened to the audiobook) were characters I really liked at first but ended up being annoyed by them between Greer’s bad, juvenile attitude and Muse being pretty much a lazy ass who seems to think playing guitar is the most important job in an apocalypse. I know Greer is 18 at the beginning but even at that age most people start losing their rebellious attitude, that’s more 14 to 16 years old that teens act like Greer. And the fact she does not grow up past that mentality for 15 years is pathetic. She starts to redeem herself near the end but ends up acting stupidly again. Also she and Muse keep somehow getting separated from each other and then find each other again just to inexplicably separate again. Like how they walked around Slow Town together then next thing you know, Greer is looking for Muse again. I guess it’s because she goes back and forth between wanting to stick with him and wanting to go on her own. Apparently she can’t make decisions. I woulda left his ass behind a long time ago.

Chuck was the best character.

carnography's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this two years ago and still think about it daily.

unladylike's review against another edition

5.0

This was fantastic writing from beginning to end. I'd say it's better than any Stephen King book I've read. So many fascinating and well-developed characters whom I could picture vividly. I wouldn't be surprised if some reviews complain that it's "too woke" or some shit along those lines. What it *is* is very inclusive, reflecting the real world and depicting the unequal power dynamics that exist, particularly in the U.S. and Canada.

lynnjones's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bookgerblin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Great start, hated the last 100 pages.

ajg550's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

krytygr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What began as a George A. Romero work has been expanded to include modern day zombie apocalypse. The struggles we go through to get the word out there and then to survive the aftermath.

bethtabler's review against another edition

4.0

George A. Romero, the author of the recently released The Living Dead, was a legend in the horror industry. His work defined the genre and influenced the next generation of horror filmmakers, horror writers, and zombified horror lovers. We have stories like Mira Grant's Newsflesh series, The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey, and World War Z by Max Brooks because of his work. In the new generation of horror writers, zombies' ideas have changed and grown: do they shuffle, run fast, eat your brains, or come together in a mob.

But the concept remains the same; it is man vs. the unknown or supernatural. And, zombies are just that, entirely outside of the human condition. Something is born, lives, and then dies. It is usually the natural order of things. Through Romero's extensive zombie catalog of both screen and novels, I always feel like his primary question is, "But what if things didn't just die but came back as other? What does that mean for society and humanity at large?" I think that is why zombies as an antagonist are such a successful thing. It goes against everything humans know and understand, and that by itself is terrifying.

"Now the vulture has eaten the dove, the wolf has eaten the lamb; the lion has devoured the sharp-horned buffalo; man has killed the lion with the arrow, with the sword, with the powder; but the Horla will make man into what we made the horse and the steer: his thing, his servant and his food, by the simple power of his will. Our woe is upon us." —Guy de Maupassant, The Horla

Sadly, Romero did not live to see his final work finished and published. It was picked up by best selling author Daniel Kraus to pull together from the existing writing and notes and complete the task. Not a small job to be sure with its size and gravitas. With Kraus's writing skill, The Living Dead turned into an amalgamation of both their voices that complemented each other and melded into a strong narrative.

The book begins with an outbreak of a sort on 11/23. We do not get the why of things or much of a "before." We start with the descent into societal chaos and madness where the dead have begun fighting their body bags like a moth battles its chrysalis. It is a terrifying visual. In one of the first scenes, a morgue where two forensic scientists are working on a recently deceased John Doe. The scientists, Luis and Charleen, are startled when the partially flayed body throws itself off the medical examining table and slowly begins dragging its body toward Luis.

"The dull light that had animated John Doe's white eyes dimmed. The body sagged to the floor, limp as a steak, except for the head, which was still noosed in computer cables. Bloody drool, the last thing John Doe would ever offer, skimmed down a power cord."

As if these risings are led by a conductor, hell is breaking loose all across the world, and bodies are rising at once. Screams are heard. Cars are crashing. The dead are rising, with only one hunger, and that is for humans flesh.

Structure wise, The Living Dead is a series of character vignettes. Each character has what amounts to a short story about their initial experiences with the zombie rising. Some are longer than others, but mostly we get an in-depth look into these character's reactions. But, I spent a lot of time when reading this mammoth of a book attempting to figure out why all these characters were necessary. Don't get me wrong; there are many interesting characters we learn a lot about. For instance, we have Greer, an African American high school student living in a trailer park. Ghouls trap her in the trailer and try to eat her. We have Chuck Corso, a vain journalist, stuck in a newsroom trying to get the news out for as long as possible. We learn why he is arrogant and how that vanity played out in his life pre-zombies. He goes through an epiphany at the newsdesk, realizing that narcissism is not as important as information. And, my favorite scenes take place on an aircraft carrier. You could imagine what that looks like—the dead wreaking havoc on a floating city.

There are more essential viewpoints scattered throughout the book. Some are long and some just a few pages—all designed to paint a grim picture of humanity's final days. However, one of the quibbles I have with this story is that even though we have multiple viewpoints and over a 15-year timeframe, none of it felt cohesive. Why are we reading about this character? Why is this character's experience highlighted, and what part do they play in the grand scheme of things? There are obvious similarities to Stephen King's The Stand. Both are character-heavy end of the world type stories. Both start with character vignettes. But, where The Living Dead goes from the apocalypse, a sharp demarcation line, and then 15 years later, The Stand incorporates each character's journey in meeting the other ones on a destination to the end of the story. There is a solid middle of that story, and this middle solidified why these characters are essential and what role they play. The Living Dead does not do that, not really, and I found that to be a missed opportunity and would have increased the story's cohesion.

That being said, The Living Dead does make some small attempts at showing some of the story's middles and how the characters got from point A to point Z. This is done in the form of interviews written and kept for posterity. The interviews attempt to fill in the blanks, but it didn't explain many the whys? Why did everyone end up where they did? Maybe the middle wasn't necessary for this narrative because it was a lot of darkness and struggle. The authors tried to explain how everything happened, but I never felt like that was very clear, and I am still not sure. I don't completely understand how the zombie plague occurred.

Another quibble I have is that this book is overly long. The detail that Kraus and Romero put in is both enjoyable and, at times, wholly unnecessary. Again, we get to the question of why. I have thoughts on why this may have happened. A lot of this novel is written from notes from Romero. Maybe, Kraus wanted to use EVERYTHING that Romero had written. I am not saying that the pacing was off or anything because of its length. The Living Dead kept up breakneck pacing through much of the book. But it was a lot of breakneck pacing, and after the first 500 pages or so, it got a bit exhausting.

".. keep fighting, keep surviving until the end."

Even with both of the quibbles, it was still an exciting and well-written zombie book. It is a perfect farewell from the horror master, George Romero, and undoubtedly will become part of the zombie enthusiast's lexicon. It is right up there with other zombie titles. Kraus did a solid job distilling Romero's ideas and breaking them into usable parts, even if those parts were numerous and vast. It has the same flair as many of Romero's movies, but we have a deeper understanding of the characters with its character-focused writing. More then we could ever have from a two-hour film. All in all, The Living Dead is a celebration of Romero and his influence on modern horror, and we horror enthusiasts are better for having this book in the world.

Thank you for everything, George. We will miss you.